>> this is al jazeera america live from new york. i'm jonathan betz. the 6-week north korean odyssey is over for merrill newman, back home with hisno carrierringring

with the white tilers. for merrill newman the war was ancient history. for north korea, ever ready to fight american imperialists. merrill newman was an enemy of the state. the two countries never signed a peace treaty, are techniy at war and as such his release likely required the personal approval of the country's leader kim jong un. why he let merrill newman go now remains a mystery. >> after merrill newman is home and has a rest, we'll have more to say about his unusual and difficult journey. for now, though, we ask you to

allow us time to be with him as a family. we ask that you not forget another american, kenneth bae. >> he sentenced to prison. caught spreading the word of christianity - viewed as a greater threat than a soldier merrill newman. >> what is interesting about the situation is something revealing about releasing merrill newman. if you look at the two people, a soldier and missionary. after all merrill newman was a soldier fighting in the korean war and was probably responsible for the death of north koreans during that time. why did they let merrill newman go and not kenneth bay. it's important to keep in mind that north korea, has an official political religion known as jujay.

>> talk about the timing of this. it's interesting that merrill newman was released as vice biden arrives in south korea. >> for the moment we don't know much about the negotiations that went into freeing merrill newman. the vice president by himself said he was not involved in the negotiations to free merrill newman. biden being in asia when you have the vice president, it's easy to make those kind of connections. he was in sea. right now south korea and north korea are not talking. the other country could have been china. it's not clear if they were pressed to help. >> talk about the relations with the united states and north korea. will this impact that relationship. >> for the moment we can't tell. it's important to keep m mind that kenneth bae is still being

held in north korea. it's a major contention between the states and north korea. what do the north koreans want? they want to engage with the yates and have bilateral talks. the americans are not willing to do so unless the north koreans will give up their nuclear program. that is something they have not been eye to eye on. >> international inspectors are in iran. hassan rouhani repeated an assertion that pursuit of nucle nuclear... >> the first children born at the end of apartheid are hearing about it. we are learning more about the generation known as the born free. >> a first-time visit to africa's parliament. these youths have no memory of

that day in may 1994 when nelson mandela delivered a first address as president of south africa. now an opportunity for them to learn about the democracy path that was born at that time. >> the first step on this side, that side - it's got an emblem. the president sits there alone. this is where he has his own place. >> from the tour guide an anecdote demonstrating that the great can get it wrong. >> the former president was making is a speech in this house. once he was making a speech he noted a red button flicking next to him. he wanted to know what was going on. he had to stop and find out as to what was really going on. he was told, "mr president, you don't have to worry. no one is in danger. the reason that red light goes

on is because you should have finished speaking a long time ago." >> underlying the better life that nelson mandela made. >> i think it is a big thing for me, that nobody would have done for me. >> i think he played a role, especially for the young people of today. he made a sacrifice for where we are today. there's a lot of opportunities that came from what - from the decisions that he had made in the past. >> nelson mandela to me - i can say he's a hero because he died for the freedom we are living in now. >> there are so many people fighting for the democratic light. nelson mandela is not only for south africa now, he's for the whole world. he's recognised as a peacemaker,

as somebody who has done a lot for his people. not only for black people, but for the whole nation and the globe. but it's not only the lives of the youths that nelson mandela changed. >> it's not only for the children. we were stopped and i remember we had a petrol bomb thing we were coming to destroy the place. a couple of years down the line i worked, an unbelievable people, they believe in the i believe for some people who voted for the first time in 1994, they wouldn't have if not for nelson mandela. >> a veteran of the struggle and youth that have never known anything but a free south africa have one thing in common, the

greatest legacy that nelson mandela left goodnight. the right to vote. >> defence minister of afghanistan reassured the united states that a security deal between the countries will be signed in a timely fashion. u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel arrived in afghanistan. the pact deals with international forces behind 2014. it was finalised after hamid karzai said he would not sign it until after elections next year. >> protesters in ukraine returned to the streets in force. the president met with russian president vladimir putin. the meeting sparked fears an economic deal may be reached and russia, furthering the distance with the european union. >> there are reports that the ukrainian leader viktor ych signed a deal with russia securing, according to reports, $17 billion worth of

aid. you -- ukraine, of course, needs the money to pay its creditors. the country's reserves are running live. it's in dire economic circumstances. these reports about the deal with russia are unconfirmed. of course they spread more anger amongst the demonstrators here in independent square in central kiev because, of course, they want ukraine to go towards the european union and it was failure to sign a deal with the e.u. that prompted all the protests. and on sunday they are planning the big one. they want to repeat the kind of successful mobilisation that they had last weekend here, and they desperately need to keep this momentum going, because they know if they fail to do that, then president viktor yanukovych may well hang on to

power with moscow's help. >> french president francis hollande says the president of the central african republic is unable to curb the crisis in his country and should not remain in place. he announced at the paris peace conference that the french would deploy more troops. more than 300 have died between three days of violence between a muslim rebel group that seized power. christians fled by the thousands. nazanine moshiri is in the country's capital. >> we are here at the airport. soldiers are protecting the airport and the runway. the french have a strong u.n. mandate to protect civilians in this country. you can see there's no civilian planes landing at the airport, only military runs.

there's a humanitarian crisis developing here. thousands of people have come to the airport because they have nowhere else to go. seleka and anti-balaka are targetting people in their homes. this is the only place they feel safe. >> translation: everyone you see here is a christian, there's no muslims, there's no protection. the muslims have seleka's to look after them. we are all central africans, but we have no one to look after us. we have nothing to drink or eat. we don't have money to buy anything. >> there are some international charities that are helping these people, but food and water are limited in the city. there are almost half a million people around the country who have lost their homes. the french have sent a fighter plane flying low over the city

in a way to intimidate the seleka and anti-balaka fighters. the big question is when will the people go home, will they want to go home. more than 100 people have been killed. the situation outside bangui is also very unstable. >> very disturbing images coming out of the central african republic. on the home front it's a chilly day across the north central plains. minnesota reaching a high of 2. typically they are around 29. the cold air is pushing all the y down into texas. it's chilly in dallas, climbing to a high. around 60 degrees. the cold front that swept across the united states, killing 11 people, mostly in car accidents before people died in southern

california due to hypothermia pushed offshore. there's another storm making its way and there has been multiple car accidents along i-5. we urge people to use precaution. there's snow coming across utah, salt lake city. if you are travelling 4-7 inches of snow along i-80 and i-15. the rain is falling across los angeles. be careful if you are travelling there. this is the system pushing across the plains and into the north-east. i'll tell you about it later in the show. >> when we come back a year after venezuela's president took office, a look at how his presidency stacks up against hugo chavez. >> 21 women and girls released from gaol after a court reduces

their sentence for protesting. details later.

>> it's been a year since muammar gaddafi became venezuela's president. he was hand-picked. some think nicolas maduro may be trying to hard to be like his predecessor. >> for endless hours every day on television president nicolas maduro is following the step of the late president hugo chavez, announcing government plan, passing laws. he's given out his phone number to connect with the people live on tv. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the president claims to be the son. >> translation: i was able to interpret the soul of the commander. that marks the profile of my personality. he left an imprint on what i do

and what is left to do. >> trying to be chavez is hard. he was a media master. he led his socialist revolution over the air waves with unparalleled charm. >> trans: chavez was a funny guy with a great sense of humour. you could be against him but realise he was witty. nicolas maduro doesn't have that. he's portraying himself in the media as being strong, bellagerent, aggressive. >> anyone will say that chavez is irreplaceable. the strategy is to present nicolas maduro like chavez to ensure continuity in the government. >> it's working for chavez's revolution to continue.

there is report for nicolas maduro, because chavez said so. >> translation: the president was intel gent. he said nicolas maduro was the successor. >> slowly nicolas maduro is becoming his own man. >> as time goes by, he is turning into himself, building his own identity. >> as nicolas maduro takes on the world chavez gave him, he reminds venezuelans that for him and millions of others, chavez is and remains commander in chief. >> joining us now is a professor of political science and the author of a book about the venezuelan revolution.

>> is embracing chavez's technique a way to go? >> in some cases it is essential. it's clear that nicolas maduro knows that he is not chavez, and cannot be chavez and had to prove himself in different ways. >> is it working for him. is he gaining popularity in venezuela. >> they were on the ropes over summer due to a political economic offensive by the opposition. what we are seeing from the poll strs is recent weeks have seen a serve for the chavista character. it is seen that nicolas maduro has now taken a strong line, particularly for those charging more for goods and is now starting to be seep as someone

it can lead the revolution. >> what do you think will be the >> a few months back it looked good for the opposition. what we are probably looking at now is a narrow victory for the chavista. a couple of mayoral races will be the telling sign. if you she the chaffistas coming away with those elections, it will be good for them. >> when you think about how much the country is suffering, why is nicolas maduro's popularity not sliding. >> there was a slide in may to do with shortage and the opposition strategy of questioning the election. after a few months what you see is the opposition sliding back into a traditional danger,

dividing, fighting with each other and not having an answer to the government. what you see is nicolas maduro acting against what he calls perisciatic capitalism. the real difficulty for the opposition is for the one hand they don't have a political program. they claim they'll maintain what chavez has built. they are ambivalent towards elections. they are claiming fraud in the april election to this day, but they are urging voters to go out and vote tomorrow. this is a difficult proposition for the voters to follow. that was the next question. no matter who wins. do we expect it to be a clean election. one of the virtuous of the fact of the opposition is that the opposition has been so rigid, that actually the very attention paid to the electoral system made it one of the strongest in the world, it's recognised

internationally. it's widely recognised. the technical spects to be clean. even the opposition is accepting that. what they are saying is that their worry is they need to observe people, observe the vote to make sure the right people are voting. no one that accompanies someone else to vote will press them to vote. the reality is these electioning are clean. the election in april is clean. we can expect the same tomorrow. >> thank you for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> all right. mark morgan is here with the sport headlines. >> we learnt to expect the un expected. we'll see how everything transpires. florida state and ohio, the maths is easy. a win for each and they square off in the b.c. s title game.

the undefeated seminoles are favourite to beat duke in the a.c.c. champion sh and ohio state is expected to face a tougher task in the big 10 title game, the buck eyes taking on the state. a loss would open the team for others to slide in the national title game. >> baseball - robinson canno is taking his talented to the specific north-west, agreeing to a 10 year $240 million contract with the seattle mariners, the third largest in baseball history. the yankee, canno hit 314, 27 home runs. the yanks reached on agreement with carlos beltran, three years, $45 million. beltran hit 296, 24 home runs and 84 rbi.

and those are the sports headlines. i'll be back in 20 minutes. >> see you then. still ahead on al jazeera america. 14 years after returning to cuba a man leaves the island. details on his trip to ecuador.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories. american war veteran merrill newman is back home with his family. after being released last nightie north korea. the -- nightie north korea. he was detained for six weeks. >> reassurance from afghanistan. u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel told by his counterpart that the security deal will be signed in a timely fashion. the deal allowing u.s. troops to stay in afghanistan beyond 2014. >> it's nearly midnight in south africa. the country is about to begin the official week of mourning. the unofficial grieving began

thursday and has not stopped. >> many that want to honour nelson mandela is making their way to his home. >> this farm was a central factor in the struggle against nelson mandela lived here for a period of time, disguised as a gardener. members. a.n.c. gathered here and the armed wing as well. nelson mandela met with them, they discussed the revolution and what country they wanted to have in the future. nelson mandela was away from the farm when it was raided by police. a large number of a.n.c. leaders were arrested and put into prison. nelson mandela was arrested on his way back to the form, the beginning of a long gaol sentence. he was accused in the robinia trial. the words that he spoke from the

dock resonate on this particular day. he said, "i have stood against white domination. i have stood against black domination and cherish the ideal of a democratic society in which people live in harmony and equal opportunity." it's words that people celebrating the death of nelson mandela are cherishing. >> nelson mandela's home in sow is a central point for mourners. nick, i know it's late. what is the crowd like? is it growing? >> yes, it's huge here in soweto. there's about 1,000 people within a few hundred feet of me. there's restaurants to my left. it's a celebration of nelson mandela's life, thanking him for how much he's revolutionized the

how much he's revolutionized the country. and mourning. we see that through the elements of dance and the songs that everybody out here on the street are chanting. it's important to understand that yes, they are celebrating nelson mandela's life, thanking him for everything that he is providing. they are sad and are mourning. it's a 10-day process. the official national day of mourning. there'll be an outpouring of support at the national memoria village near where he was born. >> when see see the crowds is there concerns about security. is there efforts made to protect the mourners? >> no, i don't think there's a concern about security. this crowd is full of black, white, young, old. there's belief, lots of people

out here. everybody has come here like everybody has come outside the house in johannesburg, where he died. there's huge crowds in qunu where he'll be buried. it's a time for everyone to say thanking tata, thank you father for creating the country we live in. >> thank you for that report tonight. >> nelson mandela was elected south africa's first black president after spending nearly three decades in prison. our guest was the only american to be appointed it the independent electoral commission to south africa, for the first democratic election. she's a law professor currently. >> thank you for being with us. you had a front-row seat to the pivotal time in the "90s, at the antiapartheid regime. when you look back.

what are you most struck by? . that we won. apartheid was defeated. it was a towering figure of governmental, you know, and injustice. i think it is very important that we all, you know, sort of focus on the fact that injustice was defeated in that case. nelson mandela was in the front of, you know, the troops for justice. >> we are so far removed from it, a lot of people don't rmz how difficult it was when you say we won. it was a tough fight. at that time, correct. >> certainly. when the elections took place, the vast majority of people, black south africans had never voted before. while, you know, south africa is in some senses has a first world

character, the vast majority of the developing country has people in villages. someone of the things that the electoral commission had to do was to teach everyone how to vote. that was teach everybody the meaning of participation in that sense, and how to make the x on the ballot sheet. >> when you look back at that time, do you think people fully appreciated how nelson mandela would become a global icon. do you think they recognised that this was truly a great leader who would be revered for generations? >> absolutely. in 1994 nelson mandela was an icon. actually he gave his icon status during the 27 years that no one in south africa, no one around

the world has been this that period of time. he was an icon the day he walked out of the gaol in february 1990. i think south africans were well aware of his place in history, so has he been well aware of his place in history. when you were there to help organise the country's first democratic elections, were the only americans we mention part of the process. how difficult was it involving the united states in this. it was difficult involving the united states in the early '80s. americans played an important role in saying no to, you know, our government led by ronald reagan when he wanted to solidify support between the u.s. government and south africa. americans said, "no", we recognise the injustice of this, we don't want a part of it. so the u.s. congress, after there were demonstrations across

the united states, the u.s. congress imposed sanctions on south africa. that made, i think, a critical difference. it means that now americans are welcomed as part of the success story in south africa - that it is on its road to being. >> i know you dealt with nelson mandela. >> yes. >> what are your thoughts and memories of him now? >> i remember a towering figure of someone who had a physique that was impressive. >> he was large. >> and a noble sort of carriage, but an incredibly kind and gentle and personable individual that seemed to care about everybody that he met. but i think even more important, i think his legacy to us all is the power of personal commitment. the importance of being true to

your principles when it's hard to do that. the importance of courage. the lessons of forgiveness and compassion over cruelty. these are the things that i think in the coming years and decades we will all remember nelson mandela for. >> well said. >> thank you for coming in today, we appreciate it. >> more on the legacy of nelson mandela. south africa's frirn minister during apartheid defended nelson mandela's imprisonment in the face of worldwide condemn nation. at nelson mandela's insistence they both served in the government. >> he was part of successive white governments keeping nelson mandela in gaol and he served under nelson mandela in the first democratic cabinet.

as u.n. ambassador and foreign minister it was his task to defend the yiftenment. he lobbied for his release. >> in 1982 i submitted a memorandum to the cabinet, prepared by my department, and to the effect that nelson mandela ought to be released, that we were making a bigger martyr of him every day he stays in prison. and that is international acclaim and status. that it would grow to an extent where we would not be able to handle it any longer. unfortunately at that time, it was shot down. >> eight years later nelson mandela became a free man. >> here you had a man who spent 27 years in prison.

and the day he was released he displayed the the cuban and energy to the person who has been a president before. amazing. amazing what insight he had in the minds of people. and for that matter into world affairs. >> central to the success of the process leading to a peaceful transfer of power was nelson mandela's insistence that there need be no losers, that all could win. >> we handed over power, but we did not cap itulate. you do not cap itulate and surrender when you do the right thing. you libberate yourself. that is what we did. it was not the capitulation, it

was liberation. >> and a man who says he was liberated quotes from a statement nelson mandela made during his trial all those years ago. >> i have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunity. he concluded by saying, "it is an ideal which i hope to live for and achieve. but if needs be it is an ideal for which i am prepared to die. having fought for white dom nigs, having fought back

domination, it was that balance that enabled him to see that it was in the interests of the country that the blacks need the blacks and the whites need the that is nelson mandela. that is his legacy. >> mike hannah reporting. >> in an egyptian appeals court they reduced a prison sentence for 21 women and girls. the imprisonment caused widespread outrage. we have more from cairo. >> before saturday's appeal hearing these 14 women, 17 and 18, were faing 11 years in gaol for taking part in a protest against egypt's military-backed government. the harsh sentences provoked outrage internationally and domestically amongst supporters of the coup. an appeal court has given the

women a one-year suspended sentence. i am so happy. i'm so happy. and at the same time we are continuing what it was before. what is solid more than before. seven girls gaoled for 11 years have been given three months probation. all have been in gaol for a month. >> we believe that they are absent, so in our opinion this is unjustified judgment. for us, it's not 100% success, of course. >> but there are thousands of people in gaol in egypt yet to face trial for offenses they are accused of committing since the august military crackdown. the women faced swift justice when they were tried and gaoled a couple of weeks after being

arrested. they suspect the government was trying to make an example of them. if it was, well, the plan backfired. the government is desperate to persuade the international community that egypt is return to stabilitiment the focus is on crackdown of anti-coup protesters, by the security forces. >> the cuban cast away boy whose family custody fight became an incident between the united states and cuba is back in the spotlight. in 2000 he was forcibly removed from miami and returned to cuba where he grew up. he's left the island for the first time. >> translation: i have lived happy in cuba for 14 years, bet there be no doubt. whoever is interested in this, i am happy living in cuba. >> there he is grown up. gonzalez does not forgive his american family for keeping him in the u.s. he calls on embargoes be lifted

in the country. he is attending a conference in ecuador. he's celebrating his 20th birthday. when we come back... >> i think that we are giving pot to kids, that's not quite the case. >> using a marijuana product to >> miami's hottest art festival brings 50,000 to the beach. more on that when we come back.

>> colorado is one of the first states to approve medical marijuana. it's turning into a frontier for families desperate to find help for their sick children. we have more on that. >> severe seizures like this are common for 18-year-old jordan lyles. the night before we visited she had a grand mall seizure leaving her drowsy and unresponsive. >> jordan suffers a rare life-threatening epilepsy. her childhood years have been spent trying special diets and medications. >> here is what we take now. there is some more.

and here is some more. >> the pills and promises didn't work. >> on her worst night i counted 72 grand mall seizures. out of options they moved from cleveland to marijuana, joining other marijuana refugees. >> you can see the glimmer of white on top of the plants here. the strike-homes hold the cbd which is the chemical compound that is the medicine we grow. >> the medical pot was developed four years ago by a family of six brothers. >> many people think that we are giving pot to kids. that is not the case. >> stanley says this is more common, instead of loaded with psycho-active thc it contains

cbd, and was originally designed to house republicanser patients control the side effects of chemotherapy. >> we had no idea we'd definitely into the realm of paediatric epilepsy. it came by chance. without chd kids don't get high. they do get well. >> kyle has a rare form of emlep si, he spent almost a decade seizing. >> now 10, he had experienced 500,000 seizures. on the year since starting on the marijuana oil extract he's seizure fee. >> paediatricians who treated epilepsy are treated by the anecdotal evidence. university psychiatrist dr christian thursday tone wants to see more evidence.

the effectiveness is defined by randomized placebo trials. they are lacking today. we have case reports and because of that absolutely we should look into this further. >> for pam lyle marijuana is the last thing she would have imagined giving her child. now she is planning to, saying it's a matter of saving jordan's life. do we need to know the answers before we stop kids dying? no. >> clinical trials on 30 patients will be presented an a conference next month. mark morgan is here with the sport. you have a good idea who will play the b.c. s title game. >> barring any upsets. >> we are not holding hope. >> we always get a curve ball.

for florida state the task is simply, beat duke. the undefeated seminoles are favourite to advance to their b.c. s title game since the 2000 series. graham watson of yahoo! sports acknowledges that they face a challenge. >> florida state crushed a ever rated opponent it played. it will be a basic task for duke to take them down. duke has nothing to be ashamed about. i think it will be a close game. duke hung with everybody. it has gone past what many people thought they could do. it's defied the odds and to count them out would be a bad idea. i think they'll give florida state a game, all it can. i don't think at this point there's any team in the country that is better than florida

state. >> ohio will lock up a b.c. s title game berth with a victory over michigan in the big eye game. for coach it is about the here and now. >> the finals are high stakes, there's a lot of things going on, a busy week, i like the maturity of the team. you lean on the coaches and players. >> a lot of players are older. it is their system. you get a feel for braxton miller in terms of what he did last year, and a feel or how carlos hyde played and devon smith, and others that played against us. it gives us something to compare to. >> in the big 12 oklahoma and oklahoma state renewed a rivalry. there's a reason it's called the

bedlamb series. 17-10 cowboys. it's a fake field gold. bolton with a short pass. fourth quarter. oklahoma on top. desmond roland, cowboys up 24-20. last chance for the sooners. blake bell picked off. gilbert cannot hold on, that would be huge. take a look. gilbert is stripped. ball loose. looking for saunders. where is he. corner of the inzone. what a final drive. oklahoma adds another great score. the winner. baler-texas game will win the title. >> the annual army-navy clash is set for saturday in philadelphia. today marks the 50th anniversary of a memorable game, the 1963 game, played days after the assassination of john f.

kennedy. >> as a nation mourned the loss of its charismatic leader, more than 100,000 fans filed into municipal stadium in philadelphia on a saturday in december 1963. president kenbi, a notable football fan and a navy vet had attended this same contest in the years prior. the first lady urged the game to be played. she said that's what jack would have woted. >> that was a tragedy. i read how they were thinking of not having a game. j.f.k. was a navy fan and vet. >> with army and navy ranked. quarterback roger star back leading to victory. time ran out, army had the ball, fourth in goal at the two yard line the the players are no strangers to the significance of this match up. >> the quarterback for the army

team was at west point. we asked him questions. that was fantastic to hear his input on where the program is. >> it was a huge event in america, and all of america's hearts. my parents went to that and were in that time. i talked about it with them. it's definitely something that we are honoured to be able to >> while most of the coaches and none of players involved were even born before that 1963 classic. they are all part of a lynnage to a time when a game helped a nation recover from one of its darkest tragedies. >> michael, thank you. the teams will meet for the 114th time next week. navy won the last 10. >> the last 10 times. army is overdue. >> they are. >> the ordinarily world is converging for an exhibit that will attract 50,000 people.

the show is helping to put miami on the map as a global city. >> for the masters like pablo piccaso to emerging artists, art basel prove oaks and awes. it's a prestigious show and the largest in the country. miami beach imported art basel, and has made it its own. it features more than 6,000 artists. organizers say the success can't be easily estimated. >> "fortune" magazine statements that $500 million is generated in miami dade county. numbers like that explain why cities around the world are eager for the economic stimulus, and the social casha that high borrow shows deliver. people see what happens in' that we have been part of. they don't understand that it's

not just enough for art basel to come. the community has to step up. >> since bringing art basel to the beach, the art scene has exploded, putting pressure on the community to measure to that stage of excellence. when art bassel started there were six galleries. today there's over 140. >> this week the perez art museum miami opened its doors with its infusion of views of the bay and gardens. it promises to be as big a draw as the artwork. the curator hopes the museum will be a social phase where people reflect and discuss art from the 1930s to the present. >> in miami we are competing not with other cultural institution, but the beach. the beach is our public space in miami. as i said, this museum in its sign and location within the

large park will change that and has the potential to be the other type of social phase. the museum began to build its collection in 1996. in less than 20 years it collected 2000 works of art. it's a metaphor for the art community. it may be a newcomer. with a clear commitment the area is evolving into a destination known for worshippers and an emerging power in the art world. >> beautiful skies in miami. treacherous icy weather. we have the latest forecast tñ

next. . ice and snow on the way to the east coast. it's quiet across i-95. there's a system making its way across southern portions of california, tracking to the south and east across the plains.

it will bring in a mix of rain, know and ice. we are looking at a few scattered showers across southern portions of the california, tracking into the night. chilly out there. take a look at the lows. 30 degrees in los angeles, 12 when you make your way to salt lake city. 4-7 inches of snow. the area of low pressure in the atmosphere, pushing to the east. it's quiet across the plains right now. we could see snow and ice along interstate. be careful if you are travelling there. snow pushing across colorado. and this is what is going to lift into the east coast. we'll see rain across portions of the i-95 corridor. we see a mixture of snow and leet. also through upstate new york. if you travel, please use precaution.

>> you are watching al jazeera america live from new york. i'm jonathan betz with the headlines. the north american war veteran detained by north korea is home. merrill newman arrived at noon and re united with his wife and son. he was released after six weeks of being detained. >> inspectors from the international atomic agency is in iran. hassan rouhani defended iran's deal with western nations to freeze the nuclear program in exchange for reduced economic sanctions. u.s. secretaf